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codewander
codewander

Posted on • Updated on

Quick note: nixpkgs (pkg manager) vs asdf (shell) vs gitpod (docker) for putting finishing touches on dev env reproducibility

Nixpkgs let you specify exact versions for all your system dependencies and build tools, but it does not support a lot of languages

Asdf provides a language agnostic general version manager (as opposed to nvm, rbenv, etc). It supports a number of popular languages.

Gitpod let's you develop against remote servers with a docker image with your build tools preinstalled.

I like gitpod the most because the dev envs are more ephemeral, easier to share, but I may try asdf.

Top comments (4)

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codewander

Also, replit offers development environments that use nixpkgs over ubuntu, so replit could be a viable future alternative.

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codewander

devpod resolves any objections to using a remote workspace with gitpod/codespace. It seems viable for replacing all uses of asdf

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codewander

Also, using asdf inside gitpod is one way to bootstrap an env when getting started, before finding a simpler method.

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codewander

Asdf seems good enough.

Gitpod + Ubuntu + nixpkgs sounds like the dream.

I would like switch to gitpod + Ubuntu if I get free time